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Seems every sequel (or remake) nowadays is preceeded by a special edition DVD release of the original film. The Bourne Supremacy. The Chronicles of Riddick. The Manchurian Candidate. I could go on. And on. And on. But you get the point. So, it's no surprise that with the release of The Princess Diaries 2, we get the 2-Disc Collector's Set Edition of The Princess Diaries. One nice bonus? Most of these 'special editions' come with free tickets to the sequel (or remake). The down side. Most tickets are only good at American theaters, so living here in Canada, these free tickets are mostly useless. But, I still get to enjoy the movie.
I had never seen The Princess Diaries. Anne Hathaway. Anne who? And Julie Andrews. I know who she is, but I can honestly say that I've never seen The Sound of Music or Mary Poppins. So, having Andrews co-star here is not a big deal to me (as it seems to be for everyone else). But, from seeing clips and previews, this has always been one that I wanted to check out. I wasn't in any rush, but the story looked cute and I like cute movies. I don't love cute movies, but I enjoy them. I'm immature that way. Back to The Princess Diaries - nobody had to really convince me to watch this one. I wanted to. And i liked it. High school geek (ie. me) finds out she's really a princess (not me - although the various women have called me the king) and must face the challenges and decisions brought upon by her newfound identity. Great story. And it helps that I'm partial to Garry Marshall movies. And, by the way, it's no longer Anne who? More like Anne when? As in Anne, when are you gonna call me so we can hang out?
You may be asking yourself what makes this 2-Disc Collector's Set different from the previous edition? Unfortunately, not a lot. For starters, there's the audio commentaries - one featuring Andrews and Hathaway and another featuring director Marshall - but those are also included with the original. Then there's a behind-the-scenes featurette titled 'A New Princess' - but that's also included with the original. So are the deleted scenes. So are the music videos. But, I guess if you don't already own the original, these are all new to you. And, I guess they're good enough that they didn't need to be replaced. Of the commentaries, Marshall's comes out on top. The guy, to me, oozes charisma - in a good way. And there are worse ways to spend 25 minutes than by checking out the featurette. Looked like they had a lot of fun making this movie. The deleted scenes - nice only for Marshall's input. If anything, they should have left out the music videos. Since I've never heard of either musical act, it's obvious they didn't make it anywhere in the 2+ years since the original DVD release.
For new materials, we get a brief sneak peek at "The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement". If anything, it made me wonder what Anne Hathaway has been up to since the original hit theaters a few years ago. Does she really need to do a sequel? I can't remember seeing her in much. Nicholas Nickleby. Didn't see it. Ella Enchanted. Didn't see it. Although, from what I understand she'll be in an upcoming movie called 'Havoc' that some people might want to see.
More new materials include some outtakes and bloopers and a feature titled 'Livin' Like A Princess' - what's supposed to be a fun look at some real-life princesses. Nothing great. For DVD-ROM-types there's some fun printable princess activities, a photo gallery and a screensaver available. In the DVD-ROM preview on the disc, they mention a "Makeover Magic" feature, but I couldn't find it.
A couple of other notables here. The 2-Disc set features both full screen and widescreen presentations of the film. The widescreen is on the second disc. Also, the commentaries are only available on the widescreen version.
So, I guess what I'm trying to say here is that if you already own The Princess Diaries, don't bother here. But, if you don't already own it, and you're looking to bone up on your Princess Diaries before the sequel hits, this is the way to go. And you get the free movie ticket on top of it. What more could you ask for?
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